Pregame will be posted a few hours before each game this baseball season. About an hour before first pitch, lineups will be added to the bottom of this post. Return after the game for our postgame blog.

LSU entered the NCAA postseason knowing that it takes five wins to reach Omaha. The Tigers are more than halfway their after a 3-0 regional run. The first game of this super regional is imperative for LSU to win if it wants to claim the series and advance to the College World Series. LSU is throwing its best pitcher, Alex Lange, and one of just two consistent and solid starters on staff.

Dominant Lange: The big freshman from Missouri is back in his groove. Remember the guy who mowed down opponents in his first six weeks? That guy has returned. In his last four starts, Lange has an ERA of 0.64. He’s struck out 36, walked 13 and allowed just 14 hits in 28 innings on the mound. Lange is revving up at just the right time, finally putting the elbow tightness and some bumps in April behind him.

The crowd: LSU sold out its last remaining tickets to the series Friday morning, selling 700 standing room-only tickets in about five minutes. Tickets on the secondary market are going for as much as $500 a pop. The crowd and atmosphere might be one of the best in Alex Box Stadium. It has all of the ingredients for a wild one: Saturday night, in-state rivalry, high stakes. How will the boisterous group affect the game?

The Bats: LSU’s offense is in a rare skid. The SEC’s best bats, the Tigers have scored two runs in the last two games and five runs in three of the last four, counting the 2-1 loss to Florida in the SEC tournament semifinals. They haven’t had this tough of a stretch since scoring a combined four runs in back to back games against Auburn in April.

UL-Lafayette has won eight straight games to get here. The Cajuns are red hot, winning five consecutive games – each a season elimination game – at the Sun Belt tournament two weeks ago. They had to win the event to get in. They finished the regular season with an RPI of 53 and are the only regional 3 seed that LSU has ever faced in a super regional.